2023 Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 449 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found Liberty University to be the most popular school for students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southeast Region . This large private not-for-profit school is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and it awarded 10,231 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 60% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Liberty University, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 97% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the large public school awarded 4,762 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 27% were women.
Georgia Tech does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 88% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Florida helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular schools in the Southeast Region . University of Florida is a large public school located in Gainesville, Florida that handed out 4,096 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 51% of those degree recipients were women.
UF does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 79% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Florida - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. University of South Florida - Main Campus is a large public school located in Tampa, Florida that handed out 3,539 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 61% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at USF Tampa. In fact, around 69% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Read full report on University of South Florida - Main Campus
The excellent master’s degree programs at Florida International University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular schools in the Southeast Region . FIU is located in Miami, Florida and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3,536 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Around 60% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at FIU. In 2019-2020 about 84% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Louisiana State University - Shreveport ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. This medium-sized public school is located in Shreveport, Louisiana, and it awarded 3,243 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 57% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Louisiana State University - Shreveport. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 98% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #7, Duke University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Durham, North Carolina, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 3,059 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Duke, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 2% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of the Cumberlands did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Cumberlands is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Williamsburg, Kentucky. It awarded 3,053 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 55% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Cumberlands does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 99% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
George Mason University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree programs. GMU is a large public school situated in Fairfax, Virginia. It awarded 3,107 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 64% were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at GMU. In 2019-2020 about 87% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
North Carolina State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. NC State is a large public school situated in Raleigh, North Carolina. It awarded 2,899 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 46% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at NC State. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 78% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #11, Campbellsville University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Campbellsville, Kentucky is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 2,839 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 33% were women.
Campbellsville University does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2019-2020 year, about 97% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
American Public University System ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in Charles Town, West Virginia, the large private for-profit school awarded 2,833 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 39% were women.
Since the graduate programs at American Military University are online, the school is an excellent choice for graduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
Nova Southeastern University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Fort Lauderdale, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 2,809 students in 2020-2021.
Around 76% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at NUS Florida, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 52% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Central Florida came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Orlando, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 2,704 students in 2020-2021.
Around 64% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UCF. During the 2019-2020 year, about 79% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of Alabama at Birmingham landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree programs. University of Alabama at Birmingham is a large public school located in Birmingham, Alabama that handed out 2,433 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 67% of those degree recipients were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UAB, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 58% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #16, Florida State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Tallahassee, Florida, the large public school awarded 2,407 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 61% were women.
Florida State does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 92% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree programs. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large public school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 2,304 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 56% were women.
One thing to take note of is that UNC Chapel Hill does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 77% took at least some of their classes online.
Read full report on University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. University of Virginia is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,170 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 52% were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at University of Virginia. In 2019-2020 about 75% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Columbia Southern University ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in Orange Beach, Alabama, the fairly large private for-profit school handed out 2,073 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Around 48% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Columbia Southern University is an excellent choice, since graduate classes are offered online.
With a ranking of #20, University of Georgia did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Athens, Georgia, the large public school awarded 1,952 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 61% of those degree recipients were women.
UGA does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 18% took at least some of their classes online.
Georgia State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Georgia State is located in Atlanta, Georgia and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,921 master’s degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 64% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at Georgia State, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 71% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
The University of Alabama came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the large public school handed out 1,859 master’s degree awards in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 63% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UA does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 71% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Arkansas State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. This fairly large public school is located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and it awarded 1,850 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 68% of those degree recipients were women.
A-State does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 83% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #24, Clemson University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Clemson, South Carolina, the large public school awarded 1,817 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Clemson. In 2019-2020 about 69% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of Miami ranked #25 on this year’s Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Coral Gables, Florida, and it awarded 1,715 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 57% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at U Miami. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 29% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Rest of the Top 50 Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Georgia Southern University | Statesboro, GA |
| 52 | The University of West Florida | Pensacola, FL |
| 53 | University of Memphis | Memphis, TN |
| 54 | Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 55 | Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights, KY |
| 56 | University of Mississippi | University, MS |
| 57 | Old Dominion University | Norfolk, VA |
| 58 | Mercer University | Macon, GA |
| 59 | Barry University | Miami, FL |
| 60 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro, NC |
| 61 | Belhaven University | Jackson, MS |
| 62 | Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA |
| 63 | Full Sail University | Winter Park, FL |
| 64 | Mississippi State University | Mississippi State, MS |
| 65 | South University’s online programs | Savannah, GA |
| 66 | University of North Florida | Jacksonville, FL |
| 67 | Valdosta State University | Valdosta, GA |
| 68 | Marshall University | Huntington, WV |
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our most popular schools ranking:
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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